JPH04212378A - Electrode structural body for high-frequency heating and solidifying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To selectively heat and solidify the subcutaneous tissue of a specified depth without giving thermal flaws and damages at all to the skin surface by integrally forming a plane electrode having a reaction surface which is flat or of a curved surface shape projecting outward and a hollow cooling chamber. CONSTITUTION:An electrode body 2 consists of a metal having a good electrical conductivity and has a hollow circular conical shape over the entire part. The base consists of the plane electrode 3 and the upper circular conical body forms the cooling chamber 4. A bar-shaped terminal 5 for connecting to a high-frequency electricity generator is provided in the upper part of the cooling chamber 4 of the circular conical body. An introducing port 6 and discharge port 7 for cooling refrigerant are respectively provided on the side wall thereof. The plane electrode 3 of the base has a flat shape but the degree that the marginal peripheral part 8 of the plane electrode 3 is cooled is low and the skin surface receives the thermal flaw in an annular shape in some cases and, therefore, this part is formed to the curved surface shape projecting extremely slightly outward. Only the tissue in the deep part of the skin is selectively heated and solidified without giving any damages at all to the skin of the surface.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an electrode structure for a device for heating and coagulating biological tissue using high-frequency current, and more specifically, to an electrode structure for a device for heating and coagulating biological tissue using high-frequency current. , regarding an electrode structure with a cooling device for selectively heating and coagulating tissues under the skin, a high-frequency heating coagulation device equipped with this electrode structure can eliminate hemangiomas, etc. without causing burns on the epidermis of the human body. It can be used to treat superficial vascular diseases and superficial subcutaneous tumors, or to remove fat due to atrophy of subcutaneous fat.

[Prior Art] Methods of cauterizing or heating and coagulating living tissue using high frequencies have been used in surgical operations for a long time. For example, JP-A No. 62-211060 discloses a method for burning out the affected area within a living cavity, and JP-A No. 57-185 discloses a method for heating and coagulating living tissue for the purpose of hemostasis.
No. 847 and JP-A No. 63-24933.

In addition, the present inventor has recently proposed that a needle-like working electrode is pierced into the skin and a high-frequency current is applied to heat and coagulate only the targeted subcutaneous tissue without leaving any scars on the surface skin. (Utility Model Application No. 59-114147, JP-A-62
-277948) In other words, Utility Model Application No. 59-114
The idea in No. 147 is to insert a needle-shaped electrode into the affected area of the human body and send a high-frequency current through it to heat and coagulate the enlarged capillaries that cause hemangiomas. An insulating coating is applied to the surface, allowing surgery to be performed without leaving any burn marks on the epidermis. Also, JP-A-62-2779
The invention of No. 48 is a method of implanting artificial hair onto the human skin and at the same time passing a high frequency current through the hair transplant needle to heat and coagulate the subcutaneous tissue around the roots of the implanted artificial hair, thereby increasing the fixation rate of the artificial hair. be.

[Problems to be solved by the invention] However, the invention of JP-A No. 62-211060,
Electrodes are brought into direct contact with the affected area and a powerful high-frequency current is applied to burn the affected area. Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-24933
Similarly, in the invention of the same issue, an electrode is brought into direct contact with the affected area and a high-frequency current is passed through it to generate heat and coagulate the affected area, thereby stopping bleeding. In order to bring the electrode into direct contact with the affected area in this manner, there is a drawback that it cannot be used unless the affected area is incised and exposed.

The invention disclosed in JP-A-57-185847 heats and coagulates the affected area by passing a high-frequency current through the affected area through a conductive fluid. Although this method does not bring the electrode into direct contact with the affected area, it has the disadvantage that in order to bring the fluid into direct contact with the affected area, a tube for supplying the fluid must be inserted deeply into the body cavity.

Furthermore, the invention of Utility Model Application Publication No. 59-114147 and the invention of Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 62-277948 both apply an electrically insulating coating to the surface of the working electrode, leaving only the tip of the needle-like working electrode. By preventing high-frequency current from flowing on the skin surface, only the targeted subcutaneous tissue is heated and coagulated without leaving any scars on the skin surface. However, according to this method, it is necessary to pierce the skin with a needle-shaped working electrode, and since the working electrode is needle-shaped, the treatment range is limited, and when used for purposes other than hair transplantation, The drawback is that it is very inefficient.

The present invention coagulates tissue under the skin by indirectly heating the skin from above, without directly inserting or piercing the electrode into the patient's body.

Generally speaking, when causing high frequency heating coagulation,
Using a high frequency wave of 0.5 to 10 MHz, preferably 2.5 MHz or less, a current is passed from a working electrode to a dispersion type electrode serving as a counter electrode across the human body.

Normally, when an electrode is applied to the skin and a high-frequency current is applied, the Joule heat generated by the high-frequency current can coagulate the tissue beneath the skin, but the skin itself is also heated, causing so-called skin burns.

Therefore, the first object of the present invention is to provide an electrode structure for a high-frequency heating coagulation device that selectively heats and coagulates only the deep tissues of the skin without causing any damage to the surface skin.
This is the purpose of

Next, the present invention aims to provide an electrode structure for a high-frequency heating coagulation device that can treat a relatively wide range of affected areas under the skin at once without causing any damage to the surface skin. This is the second purpose.

[Means and effects for solving the problems] The electrode structure for a high-frequency heating coagulation apparatus of the present invention has a terminal connected to a high-frequency power source and a flat or outwardly protruding curved working surface. The object of the present invention is to provide an electrode structure for a high-frequency heating coagulation apparatus, which is characterized in that a flat electrode having a flat electrode and a hollow cooling chamber for cooling the working surface of the flat electrode from the back side are integrally formed.

A high frequency current supplied to a planar electrode having a planar or outwardly projecting curved working surface flows from the working surface through the skin and into the body, heating the skin and subcutaneous tissue. At that time, if the cooling medium is circulated in the cooling chamber provided on the back side of the flat electrode and the flat electrode is cooled from the inside,
Heat is absorbed by the electrodes near the skin surface and the temperature does not rise. Therefore, only the tissues deep in the skin can be heated and coagulated without inflicting burns on the skin surface and shallow subcutaneous areas.

The shape of the planar electrode or working surface is determined by the intended use of the electrode structure and the degree of difficulty in manufacturing.

The most common configuration uses circular electrodes with the working surface also being circular.

However, if the affected area is long and narrow, such as varicose veins, an oval or rectangular shape is used. Furthermore, when removing fat from under the eyes, a semicircle, a crescent shape, and in some cases a triangular or trapezoid shape may be used.

In any case, the shape and size of the working surface will be required to match the shape and size of the affected area.

However, since the periphery of a flat electrode is cooled less than the central part, for example, when a circular flat electrode is used, the skin surface may suffer a mild ring-shaped burn.

Therefore, in the present invention, an annular cooling surface is provided to surround the working surface of the planar electrode, and the peripheral portion of the planar electrode is cooled more strongly, thereby preventing the occurrence of annular burns.

A specific structure for providing such an annular cooling surface that surrounds the working surface of a flat electrode includes integrally constructing a flat electrode and a hollow cooling chamber using a conductive material.
This objective can be achieved by covering the peripheral edge of the planar electrode in an annular manner with an electrically insulating material having good thermal conductivity. That is, the peripheral edge of the planar electrode, which is annularly coated with an electrically insulating material, is unable to emit high-frequency current due to the coating of the electrically insulating material. On the other hand, the planar electrode is originally made of a metal material with good thermal conductivity, and the annular coating is also made of an electrically insulating material with good thermal conductivity, so this annular part acts as a cooling surface. . The inner region of this annular cooling surface thus becomes the working surface of the planar electrode.

Examples of the conductive material constituting the electrode include stainless steel, brass, phosphor bronze, silver, etc., but brass is preferred because it has relatively high conductivity, good workability, and is inexpensive.

Electrical insulating materials with good thermal conductivity include plastic,
Examples include glass, ceramics, insulating paint, and insulating varnish. In particular, in the case of ceramics, non-porous materials, ie, ceramic materials with extremely fine particle size, such as ultrafine alumina sintered bodies or sintered films, are preferable. Another example of providing an annular cooling surface is to construct a hollow cooling chamber made of electrically insulating material with good thermal conductivity and having a bottom surface larger than the flat electrode, and fit the flat electrode approximately in the center of the bottom surface. This objective can also be achieved by an electrode structure in which the remaining outer periphery of the bottom surface serves as an annular cooling surface.

In this example, the bottom of the cooling chamber in the area corresponding to the flat electrode may be recessed and the flat electrode may be fitted therein.
In order to improve cooling efficiency, it is preferable to fit a flat electrode therein so that the flat electrode also serves as the bottom surface of the cooling chamber.

Furthermore, as another example, if the outer peripheral surface of a curved tube made of a conductive material is coated with an electrically insulating material, and the insulating coating on the curved surface of the tube in the protruding direction is removed by polishing, an elliptical flat surface is formed. The working surface of the electrode is formed, and the tube itself becomes a cooling chamber.

A cooling medium is introduced into the cooling chamber to cool the flat electrode from the back side. For this purpose, the cooling chamber is provided with an inlet and an outlet for the cooling medium.

There are two types of cooling medium: liquid and gas.

As the liquid refrigerant, water, salt water, an aqueous solution of ethylene glycol, etc. are used.

Since it is sufficient for the temperature of the refrigerant to be about 0 to -10°C, water or salt water cooled with ice or supercooled may be circulated. To do this, ice can be placed in a water tank and a circulation pump can be used to circulate the water.

In the case of gas, liquid nitrogen, liquid CO2, Freon gas,
High pressure air etc. are used. All of these are configured such that a nozzle is provided in the electrode structure, and liquefied gas or high-pressure gas is ejected from the nozzle to cause adiabatic expansion and obtain cold heat. For this purpose, it is necessary to provide a high-pressure pipe that communicates with the liquefied gas and high-pressure gas container, and a nozzle at the tip of the pipe that spouts the gas into the cooling chamber.

Note that, except when there is a particular need to recover gas, several holes for discharging the gas to the outside air may be provided at arbitrary locations in the cooling chamber.

[Operation] The electrode structure of the present invention is used as a working electrode of a high-frequency heating coagulation device, a dispersed electrode is used as a counter electrode, and a human body is placed between the working electrode and the dispersed electrode. In this case, when a high frequency current of 1 MHz and 50 W is applied, the skin in contact with the working electrode is heated. At this time, if a 0° C. refrigerant is forced to circulate in the cooling chamber, the skin in contact with the working electrode is cooled, and only the deep subcutaneous tissue beneath it is heated. When the above high frequency current is applied for about 3 seconds, the distance from the skin is 2m.
There is no change in the tissue up to about 1000 m below, and the subcutaneous tissue up to about 6 mm deeper than that is heated to about 90° C., and the proteins in the tissue in that range are coagulated.

In this case, by using a flat electrode having a flat or outwardly protruding curved working surface as in the invention of claim 1, the skin can be applied over a considerable range from above the skin. Achieving the therapeutic goal by heating and coagulating the affected area under the
Subcutaneous adipose tissue can be coagulated and atrophied to substantially reduce subcutaneous fat.

However, when a relatively strong high-frequency current is applied, a slight annular burn may occur on the skin along the periphery of the planar electrode. This is due to insufficient cooling of the peripheral edge of the flat electrode.

For this purpose, in the invention of claims 3 to 6, the cooling chamber is configured to cool the annular cooling surface provided so as to surround the working surface of the flat electrode from the back side at the same time as the working surface of the flat electrode. By doing so, the outer peripheral edge of the planar electrode is more strongly cooled, thereby preventing the occurrence of the annular burn as described above.

[Example] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Example 1 The electrode structure of this example shows a case where a liquid refrigerant is used as the refrigerant, and particularly corresponds to claim 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, the electrode body 2 is made of a highly conductive metal, such as brass, and has a substantially hollow conical shape as a whole. The bottom surface serves as a flat electrode 3, and the upper cone constitutes a cooling chamber 4. The cone-shaped cooling chamber 4 is provided with a rod-shaped terminal 5 on its top for connection to a high-frequency electricity generator (not shown), and an inlet 6 and an outlet 7 for liquid refrigerant on its side walls. ing.

Although the planar electrode 3 on the bottom has a flat shape in this figure, the peripheral portion 8 of the planar electrode 3 is cooled to a lesser extent.
Since the skin surface may receive an annular burn, it is preferable to form it into a curved surface that protrudes outward slightly.

Example 2 This example particularly corresponds to claims 3 and 4, and in order to proactively prevent the occurrence of the annular burn in Example 1, the outer periphery of the planar electrode was covered with an electrically insulating material in an annular shape. An example of coating is shown. As shown in Figures 2 and 3,
As in Example 1, the lower part of a hollow conical electrode body 2 made of a highly conductive metal is used as a flat electrode 3, and the upper part is used as a cooling chamber 4. An annular coating 11 made of an electrically insulating material with good thermal conductivity is provided from the outer peripheral edge of the flat electrode 3 to the bottom of the cooling chamber 4.

This annular coating 11 allows the working surface 10 of the planar electrode 3 to
is restricted to its inner region. On the other hand, the peripheral part of the flat electrode 3 covered with the annular coating 11 has an annular cooling surface 9
It acts as.

In this embodiment, a sintered film with a thickness of 150 μm made by baking alumina powder of 500 mesh or more is used as an electrically insulating material with good thermal conductivity.

In addition, salt water cooled with ice is used as a refrigerant.

Example 3 This example corresponds in particular to claims 3 and 6.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the electrode body 12 consists of a planar electrode 13 made of a conductive material such as metal, and a conductor 18 standing upright from the center of the upper part, and the tip of the conductor 18 is A terminal 5 is provided for connection to a high frequency electricity generator (not shown). This planar electrode 13 and conductor 18
A cooling chamber 14 is provided so as to surround the lower end of the cooling chamber 14 .

The cooling chamber 14 is made of an electrically insulating material with good thermal conductivity, such as plastics such as hard vinyl chloride, or a ceramic molded product. An inlet 6 and an outlet 7 for liquid refrigerant are provided on the side wall of the cooling chamber 14, respectively.

In this way, the cooling chamber 14 is one size larger than the planar electrode 3.
The annular bottom of the cooling chamber 14 acts as a cooling surface 19 because the cooling chamber 14 surrounds the planar electrode 13 .

Example 4 This example corresponds in particular to claims 3 and 5.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the electrode main body 22 is composed of a curved tube 20 made of a conductive material such as metal. Both ends of the tube 20 are sealed, and a conductor 28 is provided upright at the upper center thereof. tube 20
The entire circumference of the tube 20 is covered with a film made of an electrically insulating material, but the metal surface of the curved surface in the protruding direction of the tube 20 is exposed by grinding, resulting in an elliptical planar electrode 2.
Three working surfaces 10' are formed.

Further, an inlet 26 and an outlet 27 for a cooling medium are attached to both sides of the tube, so that the entire tube constitutes a cooling chamber 24.

An annular region surrounding the flat electrode 23 on the lower surface of the cooling chamber 24 functions as a cooling surface 29 .

Note that the tip of the conductor 28 serves as a terminal 25 for connection to a high frequency electricity generator (not shown).

Example 5: The electrode structure of this example uses a gas refrigerant as the refrigerant.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, a hollow flat cylindrical electrode body 32 made of a highly conductive metal has a flat electrode 33 at its lower part and a cooling chamber 34 at its upper part.

At the upper center of the cooling chamber 34 is a high pressure pipe 38 for introducing refrigerant.
are connected upright, and a gas refrigerant inlet 36 is attached to the side wall of the high pressure pipe 38.

The upper end of the high-pressure pipe 38 is sealed with a rod-shaped terminal 35 for connection to a high-frequency electricity generator (not shown). The inner surface of the high-pressure pipe 38 at the connection portion between the high-pressure pipe 38 and the cooling chamber 34 is reduced in diameter to form a nozzle 30 . A refrigerant such as liquefied gas introduced from the gas refrigerant inlet 36 is ejected from the nozzle 30 of the high-pressure pipe 38, expands adiabatically, generates cold heat, and takes heat from the surroundings of the cooling chamber 34 to perform a cooling effect.

The vaporized refrigerant is discharged to the outside air from an outlet 37 opened around the cooling chamber 34.

In this drawing, the entire surface of the bottom plane electrode 33 is used as an active surface, but it is more preferable to provide a cooling surface with an annular insulating coating on the outer edge of the plane electrode 33 as in the second embodiment.

<How to use> Next, a method of using this electrode structure will be explained.

As shown in FIGS. 10, 11, and 12, the terminal 5 of the electrode structure 1 of the present invention is inserted into the holder 40, and connected to a 60 W, 1 MHz high frequency electricity generator 41 via a switch 43. . On the other hand, the cooling medium inlet 6 is connected to the pipe 4.
8 is connected to a refrigerant tank 42 via a pump 44. Further, the discharge port 7 is connected by a pipe 48 in order to circulate the refrigerant used for cooling to the refrigerant tank 42.

The refrigerant tank 42 is filled with ice along with cooling water, and the pump 4
4 to circulate the cooling water. Distributed electrode 46 connected to high frequency electricity generator 41 by conductor 45
When the user contacts the opposite side of the human body to the affected area and turns on the switch 43, the high frequency current 49 flows radially through the human body 47. The skin surface that is in contact with the flat electrode 3 and has the highest current density and the subcutaneous tissue in the vicinity are heated.

However, since the flat electrode 3 of the present invention is cooled from the back side by the cooling chamber 4, as shown in FIG. Only the subcutaneous tissue 51 that is approximately 2 mm or more away from the skin surface is heated, and a coagulated region 52 is formed.

When using the electrode structure of Example 1, this solidification region 52 is located at the 11th
As shown in the figure, a solidified region 52 having a crescent-shaped cross section is formed. As a result, an annular burn scar may be left on the skin surface 50.

When using the electrode structure of Example 2, the working surface 10 of the planar electrode 3 is connected to the cooling chamber 4 by means of the electrically insulating coating 11.
As shown in FIG. 12, the outer periphery of the flat electrode 3 is sufficiently cooled, and an area at an even depth from the skin surface is selectively heated, resulting in a cross-sectional A rectangular solidified region 52' is formed.

When the electrode structure having the structure of Example 2 was used to conduct an experiment on animal meat, the following results were obtained.

A circular planar electrode with a working surface diameter a of 14 mm was used, and a high frequency current of 1 MHz and 60 W was applied for 3 seconds.

Distance c from the skin surface: 2mm, diameter 14m
A coagulated region 52' having m and thickness b of 6 mm was formed. As shown in FIG. 12, this coagulated region 52' was completely flat with respect to the skin surface, and no abnormality was observed on the skin surface.

[Effect] When a high-frequency current is applied to the affected area from above the human skin using a high-frequency heating coagulation device equipped with the electrode structure of the present invention, there is no burn or damage to the skin surface; It is possible to selectively heat and coagulate subcutaneous tissue at a depth of .

At this time, the depth, shape, and size of the coagulation region can be arbitrarily controlled by changing the shape and size of the working surface of the planar electrode, and the intensity and application time of the high-frequency current.

Therefore, this high-frequency heating coagulation device equipped with an electrode structure is used to treat diseased areas of the human body, such as superficial vascular diseases, such as hemangiomas, lymphangiomas, varicose veins, and superficial subcutaneous tumors. be able to.

Furthermore, it can also be used to selectively atrophy and remove subcutaneous fat in order to cure cosmetic defects due to uneven distribution of subcutaneous fat and skin laxity due to obesity and aging.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the electrode structure for a high-frequency heating coagulation apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a sectional view thereof, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing another embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view of another embodiment. 4 is a sectional view showing another embodiment, FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the electrode structure in FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing still another embodiment. 7 is a bottom view of the electrode structure shown in FIG. 6, FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing still another embodiment, FIG. 9 is a plan view of the electrode structure shown in FIG. 8, and FIG. Explanatory diagram showing the state of use of the high frequency heating coagulation apparatus with the electrode structure attached, No. 11
Figures 1 and 12 are explanatory diagrams showing the state of heating and coagulation of subcutaneous tissue as a result of using a high-frequency heating and coagulating device equipped with the electrode structure of the present invention. 1: Electrode structure; 2, 12, 22, 32: Electrode body 3, 13, 23, 33: Planar electrode; 4, 14, 24, 34: Cooling chamber; 5: Terminal; 6, 26, 36: Refrigerant flow Entrance; 7, 27, 3
7: Refrigerant outlet; 8: Periphery; 9, 19, 29: Annular cooling surface; 10, 10': Working surface; 30: Nozzle; 41: High-frequency electricity generator; 42: Refrigerant tank; 46: Dispersion Type electrode; 50: Skin surface; 52, 52': Coagulation area Patent applicant Shiro Yamada agent Patent attorney Kawashima ■

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A flat electrode having a terminal connected to a high frequency power source and a flat or outwardly protruding curved working surface, and a hollow cooling chamber for cooling the working surface of the flat electrode from the back side. An electrode structure for a high-frequency heating coagulation device, characterized in that the electrode structure is integrally configured with. 2. The electrode structure for a high-frequency heating coagulation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the shape of the working surface of the plane electrode is circular, semicircular, crescent-shaped, elliptical, or polygonal. 3. The cooling chamber is configured to cool an annular cooling surface provided so as to surround the working surface of the planar electrode from the back side at the same time as the working surface of the planar electrode. The electrode structure for a high frequency heating coagulation apparatus according to claims 1 and 2. Claim 4: A planar electrode and a hollow cooling chamber are integrally formed of a conductive material, and the peripheral edge of the planar electrode is annularly covered with an electrically insulating material having good thermal conductivity to form an annular cooling surface. 4. The electrode structure for a high-frequency heating coagulation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inner region thereof is the working surface of the planar electrode. 5. A planar electrode and a hollow cooling chamber are integrally formed by a curved tube made of a conductive material, an elliptical working surface is formed on the protruding curved surface of the tube, and the remaining portion is 5. The electrode structure for a high-frequency heating coagulation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cooling surface is made of a film made of an electrically insulating material having good thermal conductivity. 6. A hollow cooling chamber made of an electrically insulating material with good thermal conductivity and having a larger bottom surface than the flat electrode; a flat electrode fitted into the approximately center of the bottom surface of the hollow cooling chamber; The electrode structure for a high frequency heating coagulation apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: 7. The electrode structure for a high-frequency heating coagulation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the hollow cooling chamber is provided with an inlet and an outlet for a cooling medium.